Joe Paterno's Wins Restored

The NCAA has reached a settlement with Penn State following controversy over its initial sanctions.

Joe Paterno is once again the winningest coach in college football history. The former Penn State coach's wins were restored as part of a new settlement reached between the university and the NCAA. As reported by the Associated Press, the two parties were scheduled to go to trial over the legality of the 2012 sanctions against the school in light of the Jerry Sandusky sex abuse scandal. With 112 wins restored, Paterno's record is now 409-136-3, giving him more victories than any other major college football coach. Former Florida State coach Bobby Bowden retired in 2009 with 377 wins.

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Some background, from the AP report:

The announcement follows the NCAA's decision last year to reinstate the school's full complement of football scholarships and let Penn State participate in postseason play, and it comes just days after a federal judge declined to rule on the consent decree's constitutionality.

The consent decree had also called for Penn State to provide $60 million to fight child abuse and combat its effects. The lawsuit scheduled for trial next month began as an effort by two state officials to enforce a state law that required the money to remain in Pennsylvania.

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Here's the kicker: As part of the settlement, Penn State must formally acknowledge that the NCAA "acted in good faith"—something many Penn State alumni have refused to believe both then and now, as evidenced most clearly in Amir Bar-Lev's 2014 documentary Happy Valley.

Its unprecedented penalties drew heated and sustained opposition by Penn State alumni and fans who argued the Freeh report was factually incorrect, defended Paterno's handling of the Sandusky scandal, noted it punished people who had nothing to do with Sandusky and said that the school's athletics program had been considered a national model.

In recent months, emails and other documents have been attached to court filings by the NCAA and the plaintiffs, state Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman and state Treasurer Rob McCord. In one, an NCAA official described its pursuit of the penalties as "a bluff" and said asserting jurisdiction would be "a stretch."

In court documents filed this week, former NCAA Executive Committee Chairman Ed Ray admitted that he did not read the Freeh report before voting on the 2012 sanctions.

Penn State defeated Boston College 31-30 in the 2014 Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium in late December.